Stirrings

Stirrings, as the people of the Community call them, happen when a citizen begins the early stages of adolescence, or puberty. When Jonas first begins his Stirrings, he has a dream about his friend Fiona. In the dream, he is bare-chested and he is in the Bathing Room at The House of The Old. Although in real life there are many rows of tubs in the bathing room, in Jonas' dream, there was only one. Fiona is in the Bathing Room with him, and he is trying to convince her to take off her clothes and get in the tub. Jonas states that he knew she wouldn't, and that she shouldn't, but he remembers the wanting. To cure the Stirrings, the citizens are required to take pills. These pills are taken by children in the early stages of adolescence, and then for the rest of their lives, including as adults,until they are released. These pills take away all feelings (happiness, love, pleasure, lust, sex, excitement, etc.).

Film Adaptation

In the film, stirrings do happen, but citizens take injections in the morning instead of pills.